Considered a bad word in some circles and a necessary strategy in others, load management continues to be a divisive topic throughout the NBA.
Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford was the latest to chime in on the debate.
“Our guys aren’t used to sitting on the second game of a back-to-back,” Clifford said Tuesday via the New York Daily News‘ Stefan Bondy. “We’re not sitting guys just to sit.”
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Clifford’s opinion on the matter was shaped by his former boss in Charlotte and basketball’s all-time best: Michael Jordan — perhaps the most influential anti-load management advocate of all. Jordan is currently the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets, where Clifford served as coach for five seasons.
“For me, my background frankly, it all goes back to expectations,” Clifford explained. “Being with Michael in Charlotte, Michael used to tell them every year, you’re paid to play 82 games.”
The idea of load management was scarce in the Jordan era — Jordan himself played nine full 82-game seasons.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and playing 82 games used to be a badge of courage for a lot of guys,” Clifford said, via Bondy. “There were always a lot of guys who didn’t want to play. They stood out more.”
The debate was reignited Wednesday when load management champion (and actual NBA champion, times two) Kawhi Leonard sat out the nationally-televised matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. It was already the second nationally-televised game in which Leonard didn’t play this season.
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